Recent developments have established that relaxor-based single crystal ferroelectrics possess enhanced performance characteristics compared to alternative polycrystalline forms. Single crystals of Pb(Mg.sub.1/3 Nb.sub.2/3)O.sub.3 (PMN), Pb(Zn.sub.1/3 Nb.sub.2/3)O.sub.3 (PZN), and their solid solutions with PbTiO.sub.3 (PT) have been shown to exhibit E-field induced strains&gt;1%, longitudinal coupling coefficients (k.sub.33)&gt;90%, piezoelectric coefficients (d.sub.33)&gt;2000 pC/N, and dielectric constants from 1000-5000 with low dielectric loss&lt;1%. These properties demonstrate great potential for expanding existing ultrasonic transducer and actuator applications.
Although conventional high-temperature solution techniques are suitable for growing ceramic single crystals which melt incongruently, the growth rate is relatively slow and not readily transferable to large scale manufacturing.